


It's Sleepy Time

by Twilight_Enterprises



Series: Twilight Has A (Not-So) Fun Time [3]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, I don't know if that even makes sense, Light Angst, Singing, Time (Linked Universe) is a Good Parent, Twilight (Linked Universe) is good parenting test material, Twilight needs more love, and by love I mean angst, but also legitimate love, can you tell he's my favourite, he doesn't get enough
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:27:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24639136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twilight_Enterprises/pseuds/Twilight_Enterprises
Summary: Twilight makes the not-so-intelligent decision to think about Midna before he's supposed to go to bed. Time tests out his parenting skills in an attempt to remedy the situation.
Relationships: Malon (Legend of Zelda)/Time - mentioned (Linked Universe), Time & Twilight (Linked Universe)
Series: Twilight Has A (Not-So) Fun Time [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1785346
Comments: 5
Kudos: 162





	It's Sleepy Time

**Author's Note:**

> My first work was surprisingly well-received, so have another one.  
> I feel like I went a little overboard with the tags, but I kind of really love Twilight, and he doesn't get enough attention. Also I've played part of Twilight Princess, and I'm pretty sure it left Twilight with some serious, unresolved issues beyond the heartbreak at the end? Maybe I'll write something about that someday...

Tonight was one of the nice nights, the nights where the sky was calm and Hylia wouldn’t dare to disrupt the peace. 

_ Maybe Farore won’t let her _ , Twilight thought dryly. 

If he was being honest, his turn on watch felt almost surreal. They’d set up camp in a nice clearing in his Faron Woods, and the moon shone brightly on the sleeping heroes. It was… odd? The last few days had been in Wild’s Hyrule, in the Akkala region, where stormy weather was the norm and sunny days were few and far between. 

Twilight sighed contentedly. The stars were obscured by clouds, yet the moon was so bright it made the whole sky glow. It reminded him, rather painfully, of a night spent with Midna. 

_ “What are you thinking about?”  _ he’d asked her. 

_ “What I’m going to do when this is all over,”  _ she’d replied. 

_ “And?”  _

_ “Well… I used to think the world of light was a disgusting place full of pompous pigs,”  _ she’d said.  _ “And then I met you. You and Zelda. For all I say about her being a bad princess… she’s actually a very good ruler. She’s kind and just, everything a ruler should be. Everything the ruler of the Twilight Realm isn’t.”  _

He’d thought she was talking about Zant. He’d been wrong. 

She’d turned to him then.  _ “And you’re recklessly loyal, you stupid wolf. Someday you’re gonna be protecting someone and end up with a sword sticking out of your chest for your trouble, and you’ll still insist you’re fine.”  _ She’d shot him a fanged grin, though it had faded quickly.  _ “You know, all this time we’ve spent together, saving our worlds… it’s made me realise that the light realm is just as beautiful as the Twilight Realm, just in different ways.” _

_ “How so?”  _ he’d asked, looking up at the sky. 

_ “There’s no moon back home,”  _ she’d replied.  _ “It’s never day or night, always twilight. Before coming to Hyrule, I’d never seen the sun or moon. I think…”  _ she’d trailed off, looking uncertain. He’d smiled reassuringly at her, and so she’d continued.  _ “I think I might like to stay here, when this is all over.”  _

_ “I think I’d like that,”  _ he’d said.

He hadn’t known that she was the princess of the Twilight Realm. If he had, he knew that conversation would have gone very differently. And maybe, just maybe, his heart would’ve been broken instead of shattered when she left. 

Heavy, but quiet footsteps encroached on his silent contemplation, and he knew without looking who they belonged to. 

Time sat down beside him, following his gaze to the moon. “You were supposed to wake me up five minutes ago,” he scolded lightly. “Something on your mind?”

He was well past the point of wondering how the eldest hero always seemed to know exactly what time it was. He was also well past the point of wondering how the eldest hero always seemed to know when something was bothering him. 

Twilight shrugged, making a non-committal noise. He could practically  _ feel  _ Time raising his eyebrow, but he knew the older man wouldn’t press him. He liked that about Time. 

They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, until the silence was broken by someone humming a song that probably wasn’t helping Twilight’s current emotional state. It took him a few more moments to realise no one else knew Midna’s song, and that he was the one humming. And he couldn’t stop himself before Time decided to comment on it.

“That’s a nice song,” he said offhandedly. “Where’d you learn it?”

Every fibre of Twilight’s being was screaming,  _ “It’s a trap!”  _ but he found himself answering anyway.

“My companion on my quest.”

Time hummed agreeably. “They liked music, then?”

He fingered the shadow crystal hanging from his neck. “She did, yeah.”

“Did you two play that song together?”

“...We sang it together a few times, why?” Twilight had a feeling he knew where this was going. 

“I’ve heard you singing to yourself after you’ve had a nightmare,” Time replied, his tone infuriatingly conversational. “But unless you’ve been hallucinating, I can’t think why you’d be humming it now.”

Twilight crossed his arms and curled into himself slightly. “I was just… thinking about her. I’m fine, Time, really.”

_ You’d have a sword stuck in your chest and you’d still insist you’re fine _ . 

Time made a non-committal noise. “You’re enough like me that I know you’re not fine, Pup.”

Damn it. He’d walked right into that one. He sighed. “Remember that time we were talking about Wild’s scars, and I made a joke about the princess as beautiful as the setting sun? She was… she was my companion. And at the end of my quest, she… left. And it hurt. A lot. You happy now, Old Man?”

“Well, not really, but yes. I get the feeling you won’t be going to sleep anytime soon?”

Twilight snorted. “Not unless you can sing lullabies like my mother, no.”

Time smiled sadly. “I know a few. What kind of songs did your mother sing?”

“There’s a reason I know Epona’s Song, Pops.”

In response, Time pulled out his ocarina, and soon the notes of Epona’s song filled the otherwise quiet camp. Twilight soon found himself singing along in the original Gerudo, though a good three octaves lower. When the song came to a close, Time shot him an appraising look.

“You have a very good accent for someone who doesn’t speak Gerudo.”

Twilight shrugged. “That’s how my mother sang it, and it’s how she taught me to sing it. I’m assuming she learned it from Malon, who learned it from her Gerudo mother?”

Time huffed a laugh. “Don’t ask me, your mother hasn’t been born yet in my Hyrule.” He tucked his ocarina away. “Do you think you can go back to sleep now?”

“...Probably not, no. Have any other ideas?”

“I do know one Sheikah lullaby, courtesy of Impa…”

Before Twilight could reply, Time draped an arm over his shoulders and pulled him in close, so he was effectively cuddled against the eldest hero’s side.

“This is kind of humiliating, Time.”

“Calm down, Pup. We’re the only ones awake.”

“Yes, but-”

“You’re allowed to be babied sometimes.”

That shut him up quickly, and Time took the opportunity to start singing, his voice a rich bass far deeper than Twilight’s own baritone. 

_ “Close your eyes, and sleep, my child, _

_ Close your eyes, to the day, so wild. _

_ Open your, heart, tonight, _

_ Open your, heart to, the light.  _

_ Sleep sound, night bound,  _

_ Tight wound, hope found. _

_ Sleep sound, night bound,  _

_ Hope found, stars drowned. _

_ Close your eyes, and dream, my child, _

_ Close your eyes, to the fires, wild.  _

_ Dream of songs, in the sky, so high, _

_ Dream of peace, honour, to die.  _

_ Stay safe, live long, _

_ Prosper, not wrong. _

_ Prosper, live long, _

_ Hope is, not wrong…”  _

Time glanced down at the younger hero tucked against him. Twilight’s breathing had evened out, and his eyes were closed. 

He smiled softly, glad to have helped his pup. A part of him couldn’t help but imagine that Twilight was his son, and his smile widened at the thought. After eight boys to practice on, maybe when his own children were born, he wouldn’t be half bad at the whole “parenting” thing. 

At least, he’d like to think so.

Maybe he’d ask Twilight for an opinion in the morning. 

**Author's Note:**

> The song that Time sings is to the tune of the Ocarina of Time title theme. I just put some words to it, along with a thinly-veiled Star Trek reference.


End file.
